Richie Christie and Scott Prendergast are a punishing, dominant force on the right side of the offensive line.
They open gaping holes for running backs and give quarterbacks all the time they need to find receivers.
The duo just hasn’t played together since 2015, their sophomore year at Howell High School.
Prendergast stayed at Howell for his junior and senior seasons. But Christie transferred to Red Bank Catholic to get more playing time and college attention.
On July 12 at Brick Memorial High School, however, after two successful seasons away from each other, which culminated with college offers for both players, Christie and Prendergast got back together for one last game.
The mammoth duo played side-by-side on the right side of the line for the Monmouth County All-Stars in the All-Shore Gridiron Classic.
They helped spearhead a dominant offensive line effort by Monmouth County in its 28-14 victory over the Ocean County All-Stars on that summer evening of July 12.
Monmouth County racked up 181 rushing yards and 131 passing yards, completing 12-of-17 passes.
“On the field we’re always in sink. We have good football knowledge,” said Prendergast, who stands 6-3 and weighs 265 pounds. “We know each other and read each other well. We think alike, so when we play next to each other it’s really easy.”
“We always have good double teams against the linebackers. We communicate well, which makes the job easier,” said Christie, who checks in at 6-3 and 275. “We clicked right off the bat together. We both got bigger and stronger.”
The football part of this reunion was great for both young men. But the being together part was even better.
“The last two years it would have just been more fun (with him). He’s just a funny kid and has always been there for me,” Prendergast said. “It wasn’t about football. Not seeing him every day in school was the biggest disappointment.”
The two met in sixth grade but got close in eighth grade, when they played together in Pop Warner for the Howell Rebels. Then they played together on the Howell freshman team and became best friends.
“I was their coach in eighth grade,” said Christie’s dad, Mike Christie. “They were both just good kids and good players.”
“The first day of practice I’m like, ‘Oh, this kid seems pretty cool.’ Then it just grew,” Prendergast said. “We just liked the same things, had the same personality.”
Christie and Prendergast started and “always dominated,” Christie said, on Howell’s freshman team. But then, as sophomores, Prendergast moved up to varsity while Christie stayed on junior varsity.
The situation did not create a schism between the two friends. But it did lead to Christie transferring to Red Bank Catholic for his junior year.
“I just thought RBC was a better opportunity athletically and academically,” Christie said. “It was the right move.”
“Red Bank Catholic was a better place to be for him,” Mike Christie said.
Christie started for Red Bank as a junior and senior and excelled, earning a scholarship to Division 2 Southern Connecticut State University. Prendergast shined for Howell and landed an opportunity to be a preferred walk-on at Division I Monmouth University.
“I think I could have gotten a scholarship at Howell. But transferring definitely made me better,” Christie said. “Everyone at RBC knows what they are doing.”
“Scott brought a toughness to the program, kind of a quiet leader. He shows it on the field,” said Howell coach Luke Sinkhorn. “These days kids are being pulled in a million different directions. He stayed dedicated and it paid off.”
So while Christie and Prendergast won’t be playing together in college either, it all still worked out in the end.
Both earned the chance to play college football, and they remain best friends.
“We’ve stayed so close,” Christie said.
“Even when he left, no one was mad at him. We understood,” Prendergast said. “Our friendship is going to last a long time.”
Jackson Liberty High School was represented by two all-star players–defensive end Nick Johnson and wide receiver Gannon Wyche — on the Ocean County squad.
Johnson put on a stellar performance for the Ocean County team when he recorded two tackles that resulted in losses. He received the Ocean County team’s Defensive MVP award.
“It’s an honor to be here, I’m playing with the best players from Ocean and I’m playing against the best players from Monmouth County,” Johnson said. “It’s just an all-around honor.”
Johnson is planning on continuing his playing career at Kean University this fall.
“I’m proud of myself, my whole family is proud of me,” he said. “They are going to be supporting me the whole way.”
Wyche came off a productive season when he caught four touchdowns. Unfortunately, due to a fractured tibia he received running track prior to the game, Wyche was unable to play in the Gridiron Classic.
“I really appreciated that I was picked to be one of the all-shore players,” Wyche said. “It’s unfortunate that I cannot play, I wish that I could.”
Wyche plans to run track at Monmouth University this year and is going to try to walk on to their football team as well.
“My family is really proud of me and they are pushing me to really work hard,” he said.
Staff writer Ken Downey Jr. contributed to this article.
